From DC Public Library

News Release
Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 6:42 p.m

New Lamond-Riggs Library will honor longtime Ward 5 resident Lillian J. Huff
DC Public Library Board of Trustees Approves Building Naming.

The soon-to-be-open library at 5401 South Dakota Ave. NE will have a new name. At its May meeting, the DC Public Library Board of Trustees voted that the new library would be named the Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Library, honoring the longtime activist and Ward 5 resident.

A former President of the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association and a former Democratic National Committee member, Huff was instrumental in securing the funding from Congress to build the original Lamond-Riggs Library. Huff served as the first President of the Friends of the Lamond-Riggs Library. She was also Vice President of the Federation of Friends of the DC Public Library. Huff was also the elected leader of the District’s Delegation to the White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services in 1978. President Jimmy Carter appointed her Vice-Chairperson of the Pre-White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services.  

The Lamond Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Library will replace the old Lamond-Riggs Library. The new 23,500 square foot library will feature:

• Expanded space for adults, teens and children;
• A variety of collaboration spaces including a living room-style seating area;
• A large meeting room with a capacity for 100 people, dividable into separate smaller rooms
• 7 additional reservable meeting spaces, one for up to 12 people, two for up to six people each, and four study spaces designed for 2 people; and
• Outdoor spaces on each floor with comfortable seating.

The District of Columbia Public Library was created in 1896 by an Act of Congress. Congress established the Board of Library Trustees to set policy for the library. The Board of Trustees of the Library is comprised of nine unpaid District residents from wards around the city. Meetings of the Board of Library Trustees are generally held on the fourth Wednesday of every other month and these meetings are open to the public. For more information about the DC Public Library Board of Trustees, click here.